Modern DIY ideas

DIY LICORICE ALLSORTS GARLAND

I’d almost forgotten about licorice allsorts until I was getting adventurous in the lolly isle the other week. Oh my gaahd, how could I had forgotten about these picture perfect little beauties?? The happy colours and stripes are begging for a photo opportunity. I have been wanting to make a garland with a fun motif for a while now so it was a match made in heaven. I mean, what could be more fun than oversized candy?

I had some balsawood blocks around that I never knew what to do with so I got out my trusty hacksaw and got to it. Ideally I wanted them to be slightly larger squares because, let’s face it, bigger is better when it comes to crazy party garlands, so if you can get your hands on slightly larger blocks do IT! But otherwise I think this size worked out really well and the end result is pretty darn cute. The beauty of making look-alike food is that the shape and painted rows don’t have to be perfect, so this project was even more up my alley.

A pretty cute idea for decorating your sweets table at a party or wedding, decoration for a kids room or, if you’re like me, to hang on your wall just because it’s plain awesome. I’ve got this one hanging in my study (aka my chaotic craft den) and it puts a smile on my dial every time.

1.) Saw your blocks in half. Luckily balsawood is super light and easy to cut so takes just a few seconds.

2.) Sand away any rough edges

3.) Paint your middle layer on 4 sides of the block. Licorice allsorts always have two pieces of licorice either side of the centre piece, so don’t make the middle one black! Leave to dry for a little while.

4.) Paint or draw on your two black rows. I chose to use a calligraphy marker just because I had it lying around and the straight tip made it easy to freehand straight lines.

5.) Paint your final layer and cover the entire outer-side in the same colour. Leave to dry.

6.) Use the skewer to make some holes for your thread. I mixed up the direction for funzies

7.) Thread your needle, tie it in place with a small knot and start threading your blocks. If your needle isn’t quite the length of the block you may find it needs a lil nudge with the skewer. Remember to leave enough string either side to hang.

8.) If your blocks aren’t staying put and sitting nicely separated you could try dabbing a tiny bit of glue onto the string and slide your block over it to secure it in place.